Particularly to parties informed on the subject: Can someone explain the court’s reasoning?
As is usual in the Italian system, the court itself will publish its “motivations” within 90 days.
I can’t quite follow why Knox and Sollecito were first convicted, then acquitted and yet are convicted once again.
If by “why” you mean “how it is procedurally possible”, that can of course be answered now. Italian “trials” have three stages: first-level court, second-level court, and Supreme Court . The original first-level verdict (December 2009) was a conviction (this was the occasion of my original posts here); that was then changed to an acquittal at the second level (October 2011); that acquittal was then canceled by the Supreme Court (March 2013), who ordered a new second-level trial, which has now ended in another conviction. The case will thus go back to the Supreme Court again over the next year or so.
(Yes, this process could theoretically go on forever—but in real life, what’s going to happen is that now that the Supreme Court has gotten the verdict it wanted, it will rubber-stamp it without fuss.)
By ‘why’, I mean why do courts keep changing their opinion when the evidence is the same? I know you have written on this subject a lot before (which influenced my opinion) so here are some questions (perhaps some a little basic) I have about the case. (Some may be just rehashing old facts about the case.)
(1) You write that ‘the Supreme Court has gotten the verdict it wanted.’ Why does the Supreme Court want to convict Sollecito and Know? The appeals courts cited ‘a complete dearth of evidence’ when they acquitted Sollecito and Knox—which is what I think. How did the prosecution respond to this?
(2) In the room murder was committed, no DNA evidence pertaining to Knox and Sollecito was found. How does the prosecution explain that only one assailant (Guede) left traces of DNA but the two others left no such traces?
(3) It is said that the evidence shows that Kercher was killed by multiple people. What is your take on this? Do you think it was Guede and some other accomplice? If so, do you think Guede knows more than in fact he admits?
(4) Perhaps most basically, how did Knox and Sollecito get implicated in this crime? I mean there were a lot of witnesses being questioned but how did the police/investigators somehow get the idea that Knox and Sollecito were suspects?
(1) You write that ‘the Supreme Court has gotten the verdict it wanted.’ Why does the Supreme Court want to convict Sollecito and Knox?
Presumably, because they watch the same TV shows as everyone else in Italy, and are convinced that Sollecito and Knox are bad characters, and are furthermore convinced that the Italian public thinks that Sollecito and Knox are bad characters, thus allowing them to play the role of “heroes” doing their duty and standing up for “justice”.
(2) In the room murder was committed, no DNA evidence pertaining to Knox and Sollecito was found. How does the prosecution explain that only one assailant (Guede) left traces of DNA but the two others left no such traces?
Firstly, of course, they claim that the bra clasp DNA counts as a trace left in the room by Sollecito. Secondly, the original lead prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini, at one point speculated that Knox directed the violence from outside the room.
(3) It is said that the evidence shows that Kercher was killed by multiple people. What is your take on this?
It’s just plain wrong, and entirely motivated by the desire to imply that Knox and Sollecito were involved. It’s possible that Guede had one or more accomplices (of whom no trace has been identified), but parsimony argues against it.
(4) Perhaps most basically, how did Knox and Sollecito get implicated in this crime? I mean there were a lot of witnesses being questioned but how did the police/investigators somehow get the idea that Knox and Sollecito were suspects?
They were convenient, vulnerable (no lawyers, unlike the other housemates), and unaware of the specific way in which the investigators apparently expected all innocent humans to behave in such a situation. In short, easy targets for an impatient, quasi-panicked police force in need of a quick “resolution” to the case.
As is usual in the Italian system, the court itself will publish its “motivations” within 90 days.
If by “why” you mean “how it is procedurally possible”, that can of course be answered now. Italian “trials” have three stages: first-level court, second-level court, and Supreme Court . The original first-level verdict (December 2009) was a conviction (this was the occasion of my original posts here); that was then changed to an acquittal at the second level (October 2011); that acquittal was then canceled by the Supreme Court (March 2013), who ordered a new second-level trial, which has now ended in another conviction. The case will thus go back to the Supreme Court again over the next year or so.
(Yes, this process could theoretically go on forever—but in real life, what’s going to happen is that now that the Supreme Court has gotten the verdict it wanted, it will rubber-stamp it without fuss.)
Hello komponisto,
By ‘why’, I mean why do courts keep changing their opinion when the evidence is the same? I know you have written on this subject a lot before (which influenced my opinion) so here are some questions (perhaps some a little basic) I have about the case. (Some may be just rehashing old facts about the case.)
(1) You write that ‘the Supreme Court has gotten the verdict it wanted.’ Why does the Supreme Court want to convict Sollecito and Know? The appeals courts cited ‘a complete dearth of evidence’ when they acquitted Sollecito and Knox—which is what I think. How did the prosecution respond to this?
(2) In the room murder was committed, no DNA evidence pertaining to Knox and Sollecito was found. How does the prosecution explain that only one assailant (Guede) left traces of DNA but the two others left no such traces?
(3) It is said that the evidence shows that Kercher was killed by multiple people. What is your take on this? Do you think it was Guede and some other accomplice? If so, do you think Guede knows more than in fact he admits?
(4) Perhaps most basically, how did Knox and Sollecito get implicated in this crime? I mean there were a lot of witnesses being questioned but how did the police/investigators somehow get the idea that Knox and Sollecito were suspects?
Thanks.
Presumably, because they watch the same TV shows as everyone else in Italy, and are convinced that Sollecito and Knox are bad characters, and are furthermore convinced that the Italian public thinks that Sollecito and Knox are bad characters, thus allowing them to play the role of “heroes” doing their duty and standing up for “justice”.
Firstly, of course, they claim that the bra clasp DNA counts as a trace left in the room by Sollecito. Secondly, the original lead prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini, at one point speculated that Knox directed the violence from outside the room.
It’s just plain wrong, and entirely motivated by the desire to imply that Knox and Sollecito were involved. It’s possible that Guede had one or more accomplices (of whom no trace has been identified), but parsimony argues against it.
They were convenient, vulnerable (no lawyers, unlike the other housemates), and unaware of the specific way in which the investigators apparently expected all innocent humans to behave in such a situation. In short, easy targets for an impatient, quasi-panicked police force in need of a quick “resolution” to the case.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.